She Would Stand By Her Love
by Sansastarkofwinterfell
Summary: The Bastard of Winterfell had risen to become the King in the North, and Ygritte vowed to never leave his side, for she would love him until her last day. An AU story where Ygritte survives and helps Jon through his struggles to take back his home


**This was written for scarygritte on tumblr who requested a Jon/Ygritte fic where Ygritte survives and so this was my attempt. Hope it is a good attempt, I've never written for Ygritte before, but hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Ygritte sighed as she replayed the last few days in her head. She had travelled south with Tormund to help the Free Folk they had rescued from Hardhome settle into the new lands Jon had given them. Three days later, a crow, Edd she thinks his name was, rushed to them and told them what had happened at the Wall. Those bastards had murdered Jon. _Her_ Jon.

She immediately followed them back to Castle Black and was happy to throw the mutineers, including Thorne and the boy had that nearly killed her, into the cells. She had then walked up to the Lord Commander's chambers and saw her love lying cold and covered in blood. Everyone gave her a minute alone and for the first time in a long time, she cried. Jon was the reason she was alive, it was he who had prevented her from bleeding to death when an arrow pierced her during the Battle of Castle Black. It was he who fought off three wights closing in on her at Hardhome. It was he who brought her to life in a way she never expected.

But then the Red Woman who believed in some foreign God had done the impossible and brought him back to life. He remained mostly unchanged, though he smiled even less than before. Ygritte couldn't blame him, considering he had been stabbed by those he considered brothers. But he was still the same Jon, the Jon she loved.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the horn at Castle Black and men shouting for the gates to be opened. Curious, she left her room to see who had arrived. There was a young dark-haired man, a red-haired girl and a woman in armour, perhaps the biggest woman Ygritte had ever seen. She watched as the red-haired girl dismounted and looked around the courtyard, clearly trying to find something, and then she fixed her eyes somewhere and gasped. Ygritte followed the girls eyeline and saw that it was focused on Jon, who had an identical look upon his own face. He approached the girl slowly and then she jumped into his arms and he welcomed her into his embrace.

Jealousy was not something that Ygritte felt often, but it hit her watching the scene in front of her. Jon had told her that she was the first and only he had ever loved, but he clearly had affection for whoever this girl was. His eyes were closed as he hugged this girl, a look of pure emotion that was rare on Jon's usually guarded face. Usually only Ygritte saw that look when they were alone together. Something akin to anger stirred within Ygritte, and it only increased as this girl took Jon's arm and they disappeared into one of the rooms.

Jon emerged with the girl a while later and they approached her. Jon took Ygritte's hand and she fought against the urge to snatch it away. He smiled warmly, the first smile she had seen since his resurrection.

"Sansa, this is Ygritte, the woman I was telling you about." The girl smiled at her and Jon continued. "Ygritte, this is my sister, Sansa."

The revelation had truly shocked Ygritte. She had not expected that and she felt extremely petty over her earlier jealousy. She knew how much Jon missed his family and how devastated he was over the deaths of his three brothers and his father, as well as his missing Uncle beyond the Wall, so it made her happy to know that a member of his family had made his way back to him.

"It's nice to meet you, Ygritte." Sansa curtsied, clearly trained in the ways of formality. Ygritte grinned at her as the anger melted away into genuine gladness that she was here.

The three of them exchanged small talk for a while and Ygritte found herself liking Sansa. Eventually, she left to go and find the blonde woman, leaving Ygritte alone with Jon.

"You never told me you had a sister who was kissed by fire. Why are you dark haired?" Jon had spoken of his siblings often, but not in great detail. When they were beyond the Wall, she loved to watch his face light up as he spoke of those who meant so much to him. That light had disappeared when he heard that his brothers had been killed but it had returned today.

"Er, her mother had red hair. But my brothers had red hair as well."

"She's a nice girl. And I'm glad that she found you. I know how much your family mean to you, and you're the last two alive so you should hold onto each other." Ygritte felt Jon grip her hand slightly harder then and he stopped walking, an almost haunted but hopeful look in his eyes.

"My younger brothers, Bran and Rickon, they weren't killed at Winterfell. They're alive. I don't know where but they are. And Arya…my little sister, she's out there somewhere too."

"Tell me about them." Ygritte knew that she had said the right thing because Jon's eyes brightened and she felt the love radiate from them.

They spent hours talking about Jon's family, the renewed hope he had at reuniting with them, and the loss and pain he felt at the thought of never seeing Robb again. Sitting next to Jon now, opposite Sansa as they were eating, it was clear to see the love that this family had, even if Jon wasn't the closest to Sansa.

That's when the raven arrived from someone called Ramsay. Ygritte gripped Jon's hand as he tensed reading what was written, his knuckles tightening as he read what this Lord Bolton would do to his brother and sister.

It was decided that Jon and Sansa would fight for their home, for their father's seat at Winterfell…and Ygritte had decided to help them.

* * *

The battle was over. Ygritte had been in many fights and a few battles in her time, but she had never seen anything as bloody as this. She could still see the pile of bodies of hundreds of men as the shield wall surrounded them. Ygritte had always prided herself on her abilities with a bow but it quickly became clear to her that these southerners, although they had less ability, were far better organised.

She fought beside her love with all she had, wanting him to desperately win back the one place he has always called home. She wanted to see it with him, grow old there with him, and so she fought fiercer than she ever had. She and Jon had argued the night before. He had wanted her to remain behind and protect Sansa, stay safe from the fighting, but Ygritte had refused. She was a warrior, a fighter, and she was going to fight. She was determined for both of them to make it out alive, she didn't want that to be their last conversation.

And they did make it out alive. Some southern army had swooped in at the last minute, and Jon had stormed into the castle, beating the bastard with all he had, before letting him be taken away and imprisoned.

She had found herself fascinated by the size of the castle. The walls were huge, it was easy to see why it was a fortress. The courtyard was bigger than any other she had seen on their journey around the North. She still preferred the vast north, with no restricted walls, but she found herself rendered almost speechless by the odd beauty of Winterfell.

Walking over to Jon, she remembered a conversation they had long ago.

"You were right, I am swooning over this castle." Jon's lips curled up ever so slightly.

"It's a beautiful castle. Plain, but there's just something about this place that I've always loved."

"I have to admit, it's something else." Ygritte looked back to Jon, ready to tease him about something but she stopped when she saw his face. She knew him well enough to be able to read his face, a face that usually showed no emotion, but written on there now was guilt and sorrow. She put his hand on his shoulder and turned him to face her.

"Jon?"

"Rick-Rickon. He was just a baby the last time I saw him. Just a kid. And now he's gone." Ygritte had never seen Jon cry, but she could see the tears glistening in his eyes now. She gathered him in her arms and let him get everything off his chest. She wasn't a particularly godly woman, but she offered a silent prayer that young Rickon would find rest with his parents and brother, and hoped that would be able to clear Jon's conscience.

They remained holding each other for a while and she whispered comforting words into his ear, assuring him there was nothing he could do and it was not his fault. Eventually one of the men came to him with a problem, and he snapped back to reality. She watched him go and hoped he wouldn't live with this guilt. She would be with him every step of the way to guide him back to himself.

* * *

Despite being the love of Jon, Ygritte was not permitted a seat at the high table. It didn't bother her, she would much rather be sat with Tormund and the rest of the Free Folk than having everyone stare at her at the head of the table.

She didn't really understand anything about the south. The Free Folk had helped win the battle but they were still looked down upon. And then there was that creepy man who Jon said sold his sister to the Boltons. He was always lurking in the corner, looking like he was up to something. Ygritte immediately disliked him.

Jon looked handsome stood at the front in his Stark armour and cloak. It suited him better than the Free Folk or Night's Watch clothing she had always seen him in. Though he was a bastard, he looked like he was meant to do this, and there was a confidence to him that she had never seen.

The little girl, Lyanna Mormont, was the first to call Jon the King in the North. _I like her,_ Ygritte smirked to herself And after that, everyone else followed. They were all standing up, chanting 'King in the North!' Jon stood up, clearly confused but grateful that he had finally been recognised and was not looked down upon. His eyes moved past everyone else in the hall and settled on her. She smiled at him, hoping he could see how proud she was.

As a member of the Free Folk, Ygritte would never kneel for anyone. But she would follow Jon, her love, because she knew she wouldn't be his subject, but his equal. The Bastard of Winterfell had risen to become the King in the North, and Ygritte vowed to never leave his side, for she would love him until her last day.


End file.
